Saturday, July 01, 2006

Everybody loves H.A.T.E.! Nextwave #6

For comic book fans, Summer means huge crossovers, blockbuster movies and loads of promotional hoopla. This is all well and good, but it's also important to remember the great comics that don't get caught up in the media's gigantic PR machine. CNN may get all excited about Superman, Spidey's press conference, and the new Batwoman's sexual preferences, but, for some reason, they don't seem to care about H.A.T.E.! Get with the program, people!

As far as I'm concerned, EVERYONE should love H.A.T.E.-especially Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.! In case you have been missing out, Nextwave is a hilarious, action-packed spectacle of madness from the demented minds of writer Warren Ellis and penciler Stuart Immonen. It is also one of the craziest things ever published by Marvel Comics. It isn't always easy for one of the Big Two publishers to let creative minds just go mad with their toys, but, when they do, readers should take notice.

In this issue, our rogue agents of H.A.T.E. have a titanic throw-down with their former boss: the homicidal, suicidal, brain-damaged, lizard jerky chewing, cross-dressing, tooth grinding, Dirk Anger. The weapons in Anger's arsenal are fearsome indeed! He throws the robotic warriors of Samuroid Batch 23 at them! He unleashes the terrible Pteromen! He sends forth the scuttling horror of the Homicide Crabs! He may even release the Neo-Hyde Gutspawn (They eat girls, you know.)! How will our heroes survive? Since this is Nextwave, you know copious quantities of explosions and kicking will be involved. Oh, and there is a robot in a bra. How can anyone resist that?

Nextwave not only packs a ton of fun into every issue, it also makes sure that the fun is accessible for new readers. The stories are told in one or two issue bites, and there is a brilliantly funny primer page at the front of every issue to tell new readers anything they might need to know. The writing is (as you might expect from Warren Ellis) incredibly clever and loaded with twisted characters that make this book unique. Immonen's art is also stylish and action-packed. If you are a fan of crazy, over the top action, Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. will deliver in a big way.

So if your summer fun is fading in the aftermath of all the big movies and huge comic book crossovers, Nextwave #6 is just the breath of exciting fresh air you need. Don't miss out on all the H.A.T.E.-filled awesomeness! H.A.T.E. does it all for you! Show some appreciation and kick back with a fresh pack of pep-filled Lizard Zoom Sticks and the latest issue of Nextwave. You won't make Dirk Anger happy, but you might make him slightly less enraged. Isn't that the least you can do, after everything H.A.T.E. has done for you?

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